Trenton Duckett's father arrested

Regional Report - Cops & courts

July 25, 2008|By Keith W. Kohn, Sentinel Staff Writer

Joshua Duckett, the father of missing toddler Trenton Duckett who most recently has come to the aid of another grieving family, was arrested Thursday on minor drug and driving charges in Sumter County. The Sumter Sheriff's Office said Duckett, of Bushnell, was arrested about 3:40 p.m. on charges he was knowingly driving with a suspended or revoked license and that he had drug paraphernalia in his car. Duckett late Thursday acknowledged he was arrested but disputed the charges. "This is just something that happened," he told the Orlando Sentinel. He said he didn't know he had a suspended license, and an insurance quote this week didn't reveal any problems. He said he failed to pay a fine for a non-moving violation, leading to the suspension. The drug paraphernalia was a marijuana pipe found in the car that he said was left by a friend. He said the officer who arrested him had stalked him since Thursday morning. "I saw him at the construction site I work at." When he left work, Duckett said, he was surrounded by three sheriff's cruisers, two mounted police officers and a state trooper. He was released about 6 p.m. after posting $1,000 bail. A sheriff's sergeant at the jail said Duckett was cooperative while in custody. Trenton Duckett was 2 when he disappeared in August 2006. The toddler's mother, Melinda Duckett, was the key subject of investigations into the abduction, but she killed herself soon after his disappearance. Joshua Duckett visited the family of missing Caylee Anthony last week to offer his assistance. "Our focus is still on Trenton. This is just a curveball. Nothing takes away from Trenton."